Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to Receive the 2014 Othmer Gold Medal

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon Limited, will receive the 2014 Othmer Gold Medal at the Chemical Heritage Foundation on Thursday, May 15. The Othmer Gold Medal presentation will be the premier event of CHF’s 13th annual Heritage Day.

“Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was the first woman to become a brewmaster in India,” said Carsten Reinhardt, president and CEO. “Then she used her knowledge of fermentation to become one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the history of her nation. In addition to her great success in business, she is among the world’s leading philanthropists. She has devoted much of her personal fortune to providing healthcare to the poorest people in her country and to many other philanthropic projects.”

About Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India and the head of that country’s leading biotechnology enterprise. She is a first-generation entrepreneur, using the knowledge and skills she gained in becoming India’s first female brewmaster to create a globally recognized biopharma enterprise.

Biocon, India’s largest insulin maker, developed pichia-based recombinant human insulin, which Biocon distributes to more than 40 countries. Under Mazumdar-Shaw’s leadership Biocon has become a well-recognized global brand.

Named among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, Mazumdar-Shaw has made affordable innovation the foundation of her business model. Recently, the Economic Times placed her among India’s top 10 most powerful female chief executives for the year 2012. Nature Biotechnology named her the most influential biotechnology businessperson outside Europe and the United States.

In addition to her formal qualifications of brewmaster from Ballarat University, Australia, she holds several honorary degrees from international universities, including Trinity College, Dublin; University of Abertay, Dundee; University of Glasgow; and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Nikkei Asia Prize (2009) for Regional Growth; Express Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit Award (2009) for Dynamic Entrepreneur; the Economic Times Businesswoman of the Year; the Veuve Clicquot Initiative for Economic Development for Asia; Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences and Healthcare; Technology Pioneer recognition by World Economic Forum; and the Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award. Her most cherished awards are the two national Civilian awards, Padma Shri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005), presented to her by the president of India, for her innovative efforts in industrial biotechnology. She is also the honorary consul of Ireland in Bangalore.

The medal is presented annually and cosponsored by CHF and four affiliated organizations: the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Chemists’ Club, and the Société de Chimie Industrielle. The medal commemorates Donald Othmer (1904–1995), noted researcher, consultant, editor, engineer, inventor, philanthropist, professor, and coeditor of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology.

About the Chemical Heritage Foundation

The Chemical Heritage Foundation is a collections-based nonprofit organization that preserves the history and heritage of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences and technologies. The collections are used to create a body of original scholarship that illuminates chemistry’s role in shaping society. In bridging science with the humanities, arts, and social sciences, CHF is committed to building a vibrant, international community of scholars; creating a rich source of traditional and emerging media; expanding the reach of our museum; and engaging the broader society through inventive public events.